“Between 1807 and 1814 the Iberian Peninsula (comprising Spain and Portugal) was the scene of a titanic and merciless struggle. It took place on many different planes: between Napoleon’s French army and the angry inhabitants; between the British, ever keen to exacerbate the emperor’s difficulties, and the marshals sent from Paris to try to keep them in check; between new forces of science and meritocracy and old ones of conservatism and birth.(46) It was also, and this is unknown even to many people well read about the period, a battle between those who made codes and those who broke them.

“在1807年至1814年期间，（由西班牙和葡萄牙组成的）伊比利亚半岛上演了一场大型的残酷战争。这场战争在许多不同层面展开：恼怒的当地平民对抗拿破仑麾下的法军；想方设法让法兰西帝国深陷泥沼的英军对抗从巴黎派来试图控制局面的法军将领；以科学和精英政治为代表的新力量对抗以保守主义和血统为代表的旧力量。（46）此外，半岛战争也是一场加密人与破译人之间的斗争，而即便是许多熟谙这段历史的人都未曾耳闻。

I first discovered the Napoleonic cryptographic battle a few years ago when I was reading Sir Charles Oman’s epic History of the Peninsular War. In volume V he had attached an appendix “The Scovell Ciphers.”(47) It listed many documents in code that had been captured from the French army of Spain, and whose secrets had been revealed by the work of one George Scovell, an officer in British headquarters. Oman rated Scovell’s significance highly, but at the same time, the general nature of his History meant that (48)he could not analyze carefully what this obscure officer may or may not have contributed to that great struggle between nations or indeed tell us anything much about the man himself. I was keen to read more, but was surprised to find that Oman’s appendix, published in 1914, was the only considered thing that had been written about this secret war.

若干年前，我在阅读查尔斯·奥曼（Charles Oman）爵士的《半岛战争史》时，第一次注意到拿破仑时期的密码战。在《半岛战争史》第五卷有个附录《斯科威尔密码》，（47）附录列出了许多当时缴获的西班牙法军加密文件，英军总部有一个名叫乔治·斯科威尔（George Scovell）的军官，他通过工作参透了这些文件的秘密。奥曼对斯科威尔的重要性给予了高度评价，但考虑到其《半岛战争史》是一本通俗读物，这就意味着（48）作者无法就这位无名军官对英法战争具体做了哪些贡献进行深入分析，也无法向读者交代斯科威尔他本人的任何情况。我很想深入挖掘，却惊讶地发现，描写这场密码战时，1914年出版的附录是唯一考虑的内容。

I became convinced that this

story was every bit as exciting and significant as that of Enigma and the breaking of German codes in the Second World War. The question was, could it be told?

我开始相信，故事中的密码与二战中的恩尼格码密码同样重要，故事中的密码破解与二战恩尼格码破解同样扣人心弦。问题是，这个故事可以公开吗？

Studying Scovell’s papers at the Public Record Office (in Kew., west London) I found that he had left an extensive journal and copious notes about his work in the peninsula. What was more, many original French dispatches had been preserved in this collection. I realized at once that this was priceless. (49) There may have been many spies and intelligence officers during the Napoleonic Wars, but it is usually extremely difficult to find the material they actually provided or worked on. Furthermore. Scovell’s story involved much more than just intelligence work. His status in Lord Wellington’s headquarters

and the recognition given to him for his work were all bound up with the class politics of the army at the time. His tale of self-improvement and hard work would make a fascinating biography in its own right, but represents something more than that. (50) Just as the code breaking has its wider relevance in the struggle for Spain, so his attempts to make his way up the promotion ladder speak volumes about British society.

在（位于伦敦西部的克佑区）英国公共档案馆研究有关斯科威尔的文件时，我发现了斯科威尔在伊比利亚半岛工作时留下来的大量日志和诸多笔记，此外，这些文件中还保存着许多法军发回法国的公文原件。我立刻意识到此乃无价之宝。(49)拿破仑战争时期可能有许多间谍和情报人员，但要找出这些人真正提供的材料或他们研究的材料，通常十分困难。此外。斯科威尔的故事涉及的内容远不止是情报工作那么简单。他在威灵顿公爵的英军总部的地位以及总部对他工作的认可，都与当时军中阶级政治紧密相联。他发奋图强、勤勉刻苦的事迹，本身就可以写成一本引人入胜的传记，但他的故事的意义却超出传记范畴。（50）密码破译工作在英国援助西班牙的战争中影响深远，同样，斯科威尔发奋有为，在仕途上步步高升，也充分反映了英国社会情况。

The story of Wellington himself also gripped me. Half a century ago his

campaigns were considered a central part of the British historical mythology and spoon-fed to schoolboys. More recently this has not been the case, which is a great shame. A generation has grown up without learning about his battles or indeed his mesmerizing and complex historical character.